The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has ordered all Army officers who have not declared their assets to do so or face appropriate sanctions.
This is similar to the call by Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) that all personnel of the service declare their assets or be punished.
However, the Army Chief’s directive did not come with a timeline for compliance, unlike the Customs Chief’s in which the personnel were given a 14-day ultimatum.
Buratai, in a Thursday statement in Abuja by the Acting Director of Army Public, Colonel Sani Usman, gave the directive while addressing Principal Staff Officers and Directors serving at the Army Headquarters.
The Army Chief said he had laid a good example for the other Army officers to follow by declaring his assets when he was appointed Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force in May 2015 and when he became Chief of Army Staff two months after.
He said copies of both declarations where in the custody of the Code of Conduct Bureau and anyone could access it if they so wished.
Justifying the rationale behind the directive, Buratai said the Army officers should not forget that they have Presidential Commission and are also public servants, which makes them subject to both military and civil laws.
Also, he pointed out that the present administration’s quest from accountability and transparency would be defeated if the Nigerian Army failed to key into it.
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